Drunk woman thrown off plane before take-off arrested rebooking flight

A drunk and unruly passenger was removed from an Allegiant flight and arrested for a disturbance at the gate area while trying to rebook a flight at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, Florida on Christmas Eve, the sheriff’s office said.

Amanda Abel, 27, of Tampa, was charged with disorderly intoxication/disturbance.

An arrest affidavit says she was removed from an Allegiant flight by airline employees because of her intoxication. Arrangements were being made for a future flight when she “started yelling, cursing, screaming in the gate area,” the affidavit stated. She then “began throwing things and fell to the floor in a tantrum, shouting a tirade of profanities.”

Deputies tried to intervene but that only made things worse. Abel “was kicking, screaming the spitting…was mood swinging from being calm and apologetic to screaming, threatening and kicking at deputies.”


She was booked into the Pinellas County jail Thursday afternoon on the misdemeanor charge and released that night on $100 bond.